


The Way You Said I Love You

by sugarplumsenpai



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baking, Bathtub Sex, Bathtubs, Birthday Fluff, Dancing, Disability, Disabled Character, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Canon, Storms, Tea, canonverse, deaf!eren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-18 22:59:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8179016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarplumsenpai/pseuds/sugarplumsenpai
Summary: A collection of shorter and longer drabbles I posted on tumblr for the prompt meme The way you said “I love you.“1: Chocolate Chip Cookies ("when baking chocolate chip cookies")2: Someone to Love ("with no space left between us")3: Broth (“as we huddle together, the storm raging outside”)4: Dance with Me ("in awe, the first time you realised it")5: Bath ("with a shuddering gasp")





	1. Chocolate Chip Cookies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mongoose_bite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mongoose_bite/gifts), [raindrop_rouge](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raindrop_rouge/gifts), [elliewritesthings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elliewritesthings/gifts), [inkshaming](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkshaming/gifts), [bfketh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bfketh/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to [raindrop_rouge](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raindrop_rouge) for the prompt: "When baking chocolate chip cookies". Thank you so much dear.

Levi sighs as he closes the door behind him and steps out of his shoes. Slips out of his socks. **  
**

Finally.

He throws the socks into the laundry basket, washes the day off his hands and before he even knows it he is searching the kitchen for sugar, butter, and chocolate…it’s one of those days that demand something good happening.

And sometimes—mostly really—good things are found in the most simplest of things. Like finding refuge in the comfort that cooking brings. Cookie dough for example will dry in the oven and the heat will melt the chocolate pieces just enough to make them soft. The baked pastry will crumble heavenly and Eren will consecrate the floor with their remains, grinning happily, his eyes sparkling under the influence of a magnificent sugar rush.

No bad surprises there.

The sound of a key turning in the lock comes just as Levi has put the baking tray into the oven and a short moment later a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind while a kiss is pressed onto the top of his head.

“Hi.”

He turns around to hug Eren in return and buries his nose against Eren’s chest with a “mmpf.”

Eren’s embrace always smells like the autumn sun outside and like home and for the first time since when he’s left for work, Levi feels calmness wash over him. A second inhale relaxes his shoulders and with the third all worries of the day are forgotten. At least for a while.

“Chocolate chip cookies, huh? That bad?”

“Mm.”

“You should get a new job.”

Levi shakes his head, burying his nose even deeper into Eren’s shirt. “No. I’d have to write applications.”

“Hm. A nice and thorough snuggle then?” The words are playful and gentle fingers in his neck make Levi smile.

“Sounds like a plan.” He tilts his head to kiss Eren’s jaw. “In the tub perhaps?”

“Gladly.” There’s a softness in Eren’s eyes as he grins and runs his thumb over Levi’s cheek a couple of times.

“Flour,” he explains with a mumble and bends down to let his lips gently brush over Levi’s. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Levi whispers back and gets up onto his toes to kiss Eren’s nose. “I left you some dough.”

“You did?” As if thrilled by the news Eren loosens their embrace and grabs the bowl. “Oh, this is perfect.”

And before Levi can say anything Eren has sunk down to the kitchen floor in front of the oven in a tailor seat and pats the empty space next to him with an inviting grin.

How could Levi say no to that? Fighting back his chuckle he rolls his eyes in a weak attempt and squats down next to his husband. “You are weird. You know that?”

“It’s why you love me.” Eren winks knowingly, his lips already smeared with chocolate and he unceremoniously stuffs a spoonful of raw cookie dough into Levi’s mouth.

“I do love you,” he admits, thriving in the lifting effect of sugar on his tongue.

“I know.” Eren smiles and bumps his shoulder against Levi’s. “I love you too.”

The scent of rich chocolate already clings heavily to the air, makes it sticky and sweet and promising and they sit there—crouch there—on the floor in front of the oven, watching the cookies bake.

Life is good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave feedback in form of Kudos or comments if you liked the story or recommend it further on [tumblr](http://sugarplum-senpai.tumblr.com/post/151183129695/9-when-baking-chocolate-chip-cookies-ereri). Thank you. <3


	2. Someone to Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "With no space left between us"
> 
> Thank you so much, [Crunchy](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mongoose_bite)! This got much longer and turned out to be completely different from what I’ve originally planned, but well. I hope you’ll like it anyway. :) 
> 
> That being said: Rated F for The Floof!

The first time it nearly happens is during film night. They are both laying on the sofa, huddled together under a warm blanket since even though the days are already bright and warm, the nights are still long and cold. Eren is resting at Levi’s side, his head on Levi’s chest, their legs intertwined, and his senses focused on Levi’s strong and steady heartbeat through the soft pyjamas’ tops as the tv screen sends out its flickering frames into the darkness that’s surrounding them.

The subtitles running along with the images have long been forgotten, their meaning lost in the hands trailing over his arm and back and in the tentative exploring of his own. Eventually Levi’s fingers find Eren’s, only to catch them and examine them curiously, one digit at a time.

A hum vibrates through Levi’s chest as he says something and Eren looks up at him with a soundless question in his eyes.

_What?_

Levi’s face is lit by the cool light of the screen, the soft glow painting his face in facets of blue, then purple and then bright and his usually grey eyes reflect the colours of the film as they watch. Right now, however, they are focussed on Eren and a faint smile tucks on the corners of Levi’s mouth.

He doesn’t answer. Instead he brings Eren’s fingers to his lips to kiss the knuckles before he squeezes them and intertwines them with his own.

A bird seems to flap its wings in Eren’s throat and he puts his useless ear back down against the powerful beat that thumps under Levi’s ribs, maybe a little quicker than before.

The second time it nearly happens is during shopping. It smells nice in this tea shop, not like the usual cacophony of cheap vanilla and artificial strawberry flavour, but more like, well, tea.

Eren watches Levi as he stands at the counter, talking to the vendor while at the same time his hands try to form some of the signs he’s learnt during the last couple of weeks, so that Eren isn’t too left out on the conversation.

A few of the signs are incorrect and make no sense, but Eren recognises enough to understand Levi is asking for a black tea with orange. The vendor beams proudly and opens a canister for both Levi and Eren to examine and the scent that rises up Eren’s nose is wonderful. The tea looks pretty too. Little, slim and curly leaves, mixed with dried pieces of orange rind that shine vividly in-between.

Levi raises a sharp eyebrow at Eren, as if to ask if he was alright with the choice. Eren nods quickly and is almost surprised as they are bid to sit down to have a cup to try first.

As far as Eren can tell the tea tastes great too—he’s got not that much of an experience. But when Levi takes a sip his whole face changes into something Eren can’t really put a finger on. Some biscuits are laid out on the counter and the vendor pushes the plate towards them with an offering smile and an impish wink. Eren smiles back and as he tries one of the biscuits that taste like lemon and white chocolate and go perfectly with the content of his cup, he thinks to himself that Levi looks even more beautiful when he’s buying tea.

The third time—and this time it indeed does happen—is on that same afternoon. They are laying on the couch again, only now they face each other, each of them reading in a book.

Levi had asked if it was alright if he’d put on some music before and on the coffee table next to them is a pot of tea with the same tea they’ve bought earlier and a box of the same biscuits. Steam is rising lazily from the tea cups and sending out that familiar citrusy scent while the afternoon sun illuminates the room with its golden glow.

Levi is warm next to Eren, his feet peeking out under the hem of the blanket, wiggling every now and then, probably along with the music…and they are covered in absolute spotless white socks. The sight makes Eren’s belly tingle and his lips involuntarily crack into a smile as he turns to his book again.

He wonders for a second what kind of music Levi is listening too. Is it with vocals or simply melody? And how would Levi’s voice sound like, if he could hear it? Levi himself has described it as “relatively deep and rather boring” but Eren doubts that last part.

Lost in his wonderings it takes him a second to notice the vibration against his leg and he looks up from his book. Levi’s eyes widen at his sight and a blush dusts his pale cheeks in a faint pink.

Levi begins to sign something, but then reaches for the phone in his pockets to type.

_I just read something out loud for you. Completely forgot. Sorry…_

Putting his book aside—he won’t read it today anyway—Eren shifts under the blanket so he can rest his head on Levi’s chest again and kiss him whenever he likes to. He truly could get used to this.

His hands take over the phone.

 _Show me._  

Levi opens his book again and points at a paragraph.

_Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need - a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing._

_It’s beautiful,_ Eren types.

_Isn’t it?_

Fingers run through Eren’s hair and a kiss is planted on his head as Levi continues reading. Scuttling even closer Eren reaches out and without letting himself think it through first he runs his fingertip over the written words in Levi’s book.

_…someone to love you…_

For a second Levi goes completely still in Eren’s arms while the beating rhythm against Eren’s ear increases. This time he is nearly completely certain of it.

And like this he waits, suddenly absolutely terrified of the answer because this is simply too soon, too much perhaps, and what if he’s read the signs wrong–

Levi closes his book and carefully sits up, bringing a small distance between them as he looks at Eren. His grey eyes are widened, look like rain, and his lips are moving, saying words Eren wants, so much needs to hear yet can’t, only to clench together again as Levi closes his eyes shut and visually takes a deep breath with a short shake of his head.

Defeated, Eren gulps and has to struggle not to cringe in pain as he’s feeling something deep inside of him shatter. But before he can move to stand up and leave ashamedly he finds himself in a tight embrace that stirs up hope again—beautiful, thrilling hope—and one second later Levi kisses him. Kisses all of Eren’s worries away.

Two hands tenderly cup his face, hold him close, and Levi smells like the best thing in the world. Eren can taste wet salt and feels that Levi is slightly shuddering under his fingers that desperately cling on for halt, but that doesn’t matter. Nothing matters right now. Not even the silence.

Eren understands anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote is from [Three Men in a Boat](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/308?msg=welcome_stranger) by Jerome K Jerome.
> 
> Please leave feedback in form of Kudos or comments if you liked the story or recommend it further on [tumblr](http://sugarplum-senpai.tumblr.com/post/151198393530/ereri-19-with-no-space-left-between-us-please). Thank you. <3


	3. Broth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt “As we huddle together, the storm raging outside”. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the prompt, [Ellie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/elliewritesthings). I so much hope you like it.

_Ah-choo!_

Levi cringes with worry as he approaches the sneeze that comes from the bed. It is followed by a loud sniff, a second sneeze and a heart-rending cough that seems to have no end to it.

Finally it abates after all, making way to the loud noise of the windows that are rattling fiercely in their frames. On the other side of the glass the grey clouds above gather and thicken as the first turbulency of the season carries them quickly over the darkening sky while the autumn rages over the world outside. The trees are long drained by the past summer. The nearby forest presents itself in its typical October dress of bright red and yellow and orange alongside a lush brown between the dark green of the conifers and every blast from the windstorm sends a few more colourful leaves into the air for their last dance.

It’s Eren’s most favourite time of the year and Levi knows how much he would love to chase the wind outside, wrapped into his soft scarf, his head protected by a cap and his hand in Levi’s. But this would have to wait.

“Baby?” Levi asks carefully, eyeing the pile of numerous blankets that cover Eren from his head to his toes. It must be sweltering like in an oven under there. But at least the heavy shivering seems to have stopped and Levi allows himself a silent sigh of relief. They are over the hump at last.

“Go away!” the voice is muffled and barely audible. “I’m hideous.”

“You know I won’t. And no you’re not.” Levi sits down on the edge of their bed, resting a steaming mug on the nightstand that’s scattered with a dozen of used tissues, more to come. “Come on. Show yourself. It’s only me.”

“No.”

“I brought you your special medicine…” Levi says, hoping it will coax Eren out of his fort.

Another cough merges into a vehement movement, probably a shake of the head.

“Okay, then I’ll drink it myself. Mm, this is good,” he moans teasingly. “So warm and yummy. I wish you could taste it yourself, but apparently it’s all for me.”

This ultimately does the trick. A red nose in a puffy face appears under the layers of blankets, framed by Eren’s brown hair that has lost its natural shine due to the bronchitis the sudden cold snap of the autumn has brought. The usually ruffled crown is sticking unnaturally to his sweaty brow that looks much too pale.

“Hey there, beautiful.”

“You made broth?” Eren croaks hopefully, his voice hoarse and throaty. “For me?”

“I did. Special chicken broth after your Mum’s recipe. I called her yesterday.” Levi confirms and gently brushes Eren’s strands out of his eyes before he feels his forehead. Still too hot. He is about to pull back, but Eren is already leaning into it.

“Your hands are so nicely cold.”

“Mm.” Not minding the dampness he puts his second hand into Eren’s neck and smiles as it coaxes out a pleased sigh. “It’s only because your fever isn’t down yet. Do you need anything else?”

“New lungs,” Eren jokes half-heartedly and jerks away as another cough shakes his whole body. “I want to go leaf diving.”

“Well, you won’t do anything of that sorts until you’re up on your feet again and can enjoy it properly.” Levi says. “Besides. There’s a storm outside, if you haven’t noticed.”

A sniff. “This is not fair.”

“I know, baby.”

Eren is already sipping the broth with glowing cheeks, the aguish eyes lightening up with the first real spark since he has woken up the morning before, looking like a picture of misery. After their visit at the doctor’s Eren had taken his medicine—the real one—and slept through the rest of the day and the following night.

The fluid seems to lift his senses, because suddenly he’s looking up at Levi with widened eyes. “Why aren’t you at work?”

“I took a few days off.”

“But-”

“No ‘but’. You are sick. Now finish that broth so you’re feeling better soon, yes? There’s a whole pot in the kitchen. All yours.”

“Is there a chance there’s any cocoa as well?”

“There might.” Levi smiles as that familiar flutter warms his stomach, just as it has since day one. “With marshmallows and extra cinnamon?”

Eren nods zealously, flinches shortly and continues nodding at a much slower pace, the first trace of a bright beam on his features. “Lots and lots.”

“Sure, baby.”

With a soft squeeze to Eren’s burning underarm Levi stands up, tucks the blankets as tight around the man underneath as they should be and gathers all the tissues of doom on the nightstand to throw them away. He makes a mental note to change the bedsheets later too.

“Levi?”

“Mm?” He turns, only to meet a pair of green eyes that look at him from behind the already nearly empty cup and the open tenderness in them makes Levi’s heart skip a beat. 

“Thank you. I love you.”

He steps closer again and plants a kiss on Eren’s hot forehead. “And up until this day I don’t know why, you bugger. Let’s just make you healthy so you can laugh and run with the wind again. Okay, love?”

“Promise.”


	4. Dance With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble was written for the lovely and most amazing [Bri](http://archiveofourown.org/users/inkshaming) and for her prompt: "In awe, the first time you realised it." 
> 
> Thank you so much, dear. I hope you like it.

Of all the things that Levi has to get used to after the war, spending his birthday with the same people every year is by far the weirdest experience of them all. Not that he’d ever given much thought to celebrating that occasion but somehow Eren got the date out of Hanji and ever since there is no way out of it. **  
**

At least there’s this unspoken rule that there never are any gifts. Being alive and sharing a cake together seems to be more than enough for a whole lifetime, more than anything bought could ever trump. And as the last guests of this year’s party leave—Hanji supported by a grinning Sasha who promises to bring them safely into their own bed—Levi irritatedly considers himself lucky. Even more so when a pair of slender, long arms wrap around him from behind.

Peace has brought more than just a change of his duties. The military flourishes, encouraged by the victory over the Titans, and most of the handful of survivors from the final battle are Squad leaders of their own now. One day a few months ago Eren has stood on Levi’s doorstep, a hand in his neck, his ears pink, and asked if he could stay for the night.

It hadn’t really surprised Levi. Thinking back this probably has been inevitable for a while now. What does surprise him, however, is how easy it has been ever since that first step had been made. Eren has snuck into the monotony of everyday life like a cat—light-footed, silent, persistent—and has been making it a part of himself.

Waking up means ruffled hair now, sleepy eyes and tentative embraces, warm from slumber. Working is accompanied by open smiles over the training grounds and meetings for lunch and the evenings are filled with tea, shared paperwork and a pair of lips in his neck when they go to sleep.

Life is surprisingly good these days, a fact that makes Levi twitchy and restless. Even on his own birthday.

No, he corrects himself, _especially_ on his own birthday. He’s told Eren that he doesn’t know how to handle this whole being in a relationship thing. Opening up to someone doesn’t come easy to him and sharing one’s life with a person is still odd at some times. He knows he isn’t easy to live with, with his strange sleeping patterns, his constant need for cleanness and tidiness, and his inexperience when it comes to intimacy…

Despite all that Eren has only shrugged and smiled. “I don’t mind. I only want to be yours.”

Levi can hear these words again in his head now, so loud and clear as if they were real, and as he feels Eren breathe against his back while Sasha and Hanji wobble out of their sight, he wonders for the umpteenth time, why. 

“You’re brooding.” Eren’s voice comes quietly, spoken softly into the top of his head. It isn’t an accusation or a question, simply a statement that leaves it open to Levi whether he wants to respond to it or not.

“I’m old,” he gives away after a moment and turns around to look at Eren, facing the visual proof of his own words.

“Hm…” Eren looks back, his eyes searching for something Levi can not see and begins to smile. “I know just the thing for that.” The smile becomes even wider, enticing and untamed. “Dance with me.”

“What.”

“Dance with me,” Eren repeats with eagerly twinkling eyes that make Levi’s stomach flip. “You know, two people leaning against each other and moving to music? It’s supposed to be fun.”

“We don’t have any music,” Levi points out.

“Got it right here,” Eren says and slips his left hand into Levi’s right, as naturally as if it was meant to be this way. Sometimes Eren does things like that and Levi never knows why it fills him with a deep warmth like someone had blown on cold coals to make them glow again, against all odds.

Eren’s right hand is on Levi’s left arm to guide it to his waistline and then wraps around Levi’s side until it comes to a rest on his lower spine. “Please, Levi?”

“I don’t know how,” he admits weakly, being too aware of the hand in his back that gently presses their bodies together from hips to shoulders and he holds on tightly to Eren’s shirt. Levi swallows. The thought occurs to him that this idea might be a terrible mistake. He only hopes it’s one of his better ones.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Eren mumbles and with that he begins to move, slowly at first and carefully, rocking Levi from side to side, making one small step at a time.

It is weird moving like this in the silence of the room, being so close that he can make out the golden dots in Eren’s green eyes that always pull something inside of him towards the man in his arms, like a moth to the flame. Levi doesn’t know how to call it. He only knows he’s never felt anything like this before and it is tremendously scary and too big for words at the same time.

“Just like that,” Eren says quietly, his fingers brushing over Levi’s to correct their grip.

“You said there’d be music.” He wants to tease but his voice disobeys him, granting him nothing more than a hoarse whisper.

“Soon. For now think about flying in the woods. Think about the sun glistening through the leaves and the wind. Think about the world rushing past you and the feeling right before the fall…”

Levi doesn’t know why this would be helpful, but does Eren the favour to comply, recalls the sensation as his body is being moved more fluently now and their steps are getting longer. 

Eren is even closer now, or maybe Levi is closer to Eren, their chests just barely touching as he is led through his living room—their living room if Eren wants to stay—and he feels his shoulders loosen the rest of their tension as Eren starts to hum a soft tune.

It’s a sweet melody and Levi lets it carry away his thoughts while his feet carry his body on their own. The room around them is blurring, its objects melting into moving shapes of diffuse colours. Only Eren is all clear, his eyes fixed on Levi and his lips curved in a compelling smile as he draws Levi even closer.

“Do you trust me?” he asks and all Levi can do is nod, before these green eyes sparkle with mischief and Levi is spinning, whirling out of their route, away from Eren, only to spin back again, until their bodies are pressed against each other once more, circling around in fluent motions.

He hears an unfamiliar sound and needs a second to realise that it is his own laughter. It is bubbling out of him out of nowhere, bright and surprised and untrained, yet freeing and lifting. He closes his eyes in wonderment and lets himself been directed, willingly loses himself in the movements, in the comfort of Eren’s embrace, in the flow of the melody, and the strange feeling of timelessness. It truly does feel a bit like flying outside.

Immersed in that newfound freedom he is startled by the unexpected, soft brush against his forehead, accompanied by a gentle puff against his hair just as their steps are about to slow down into more leisurely turns. He wants to open his eyes, but now Eren’s warm lips find his eyelids, then the tired bruises underneath, the sorrowful wrinkle between his eyebrows, his cheeks, his temples, and the tip of his nose before they press against the top of his head.

Levi suddenly has to think about the kid he’s met all these years ago, raging and unbroken in shackles behind bars in a mouldy cell with a fire in his eyes that could have been frightening. In moments like this it’s hard to believe that the furious boy from back then has grown into the man that now is holding Levi like holding him was all he ever wanted to do.

The fingers that are wrapped around Levi’s right hand have begun to move as well, small, playful gestures that let his fingers go, only to catch them again and let them go once more in a constant loosening and intertwining.

In all these weeks they’ve never talked about what this is, never even so much as lost one word about it. Eren has simply been there, painting Levi’s world with stars, dazzling him with light. Blinding him, apparently. The epiphany hits him like a rock, like the sudden recoil of his gear in the middle of the air. Fuck.

“You know,” Eren whispers into his hair, amusedly interrupting his hummed song and Levi’s dizzying thoughts. “I’ve always known you’d be a great dancer.”

“And you’re a sap.” Levi grumbles against Eren’s chest.

“Mm. But I’m your sap.”

And before Levi can react he’s spun out of Eren’s arms for the second time this evening and drawn back again, back to that knowing smile against his hair and that powerful heartbeat against his ear. Back to that soft hum against his chest. Back into an embrace that makes everything so clear, that he has to ask himself why he’s never realised it before.

Eren holds him close, holds his gaze and Levi knows, feels it in his chest, that he’s been lost from the moment he’s let Eren through his door…or probably even much, much longer.

He melts against Eren’s shirt, inhales deeply, and feeling miraculously secure he lets his mouth silently form the three words that flood his chest and spill over with a checkless flutter of his pulse.

Eventually, maybe one day, he might be able to say them out loud. For now however he breathes them once more before he lets himself fall and fly, knowing that Eren will catch him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave feedback in form of Kudos or comments if you liked the story or recommend it further on [tumblr](http://sugarplum-senpai.tumblr.com/post/151390500170/ereri-31-please-d). Thank you. <3


	5. Bath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble goes to the wonderful [Keth](http://archiveofourown.org/users/bfketh) and the prompt: "With a shuddering gasp". Thank you so much! I hope you like it.

There’s a cup of tea in the empty kitchen when Eren comes home. It sits on the table like something lost and forgotten that’s waiting for its owner with a never-waving patience. He doesn’t need to step closer and press his fingertips against the china to know that it is cold.

It’s one of _these_ nights.

The bathroom is unlighted, but he can smell the unmistakable scent of soap and dampness. The door is slightly ajar, neither inviting him in nor locking him out and the massive wood is heavy under his fingers as he pushes it open.

As expected Levi is resting in the tub. His head tilted back with opened eyes, his skin looking so pale, nearly luminous in the moonlight. The crease between the thin, ebony eyebrows is deepened. His lips pressed together in a grim line. The size of the tub makes him look small in comparison.

A bit too small actually.

“Hey,” Eren says quietly.

“Hey,” comes a whispered rasp that tightens Eren’s chest.

Levi’s eyes are glistening in the near-darkness as they flicker away from the ceiling to focus on Eren, shine bright in the night and bear something dark of their own. Something lonely.

Eren knows that look. It’s all too familiar.

“Got room for one more in there?”

The Adam’s apple in Levi’s throat bobs ponderously and a barely noticeable shrug of the shoulders sends a new ripple over the surface of the dark water. It splashes silently and the echo of the quiet sounds is strangely loud in the small bathroom. “If you want.”

Feeling Levi’s gaze on him Eren unbuckles the straps of his gear to hang them on a hook next to the door and undresses, not minding to fold his clothes as he piles them into the laundry basket, next to neat squares of Levi’s shirts and pants.

“Scoot?”

Not averting his eyes Levi pulls in his legs. Eren gets the wordless hint and steps into the tub, facing Levi. The water is hot, piping hot. Probably the second filling he estimates. The heat stings, but he ignores it and slowly crouches down, waiting for the excess water to drain before he leans back and fully submerges into the water, careful to not let anything spill over.

Levi is still looking at him wearily and something sharp pierces Eren’s chest. How he wishes to be able to simply reach out and take all the pain to make it go away.

He can’t.

He can, however, help to make it better at least. Just like Levi has done it so many times for him. Chewing on his bottom lip in worry he takes hold on one of Levi’s feet, carefully and with just a bit too much pressure in his grip, so it won’t tickle too much.

It’s not their first night like this. Not the first time Eren has found Levi in the tub, deeply lost in his sorrows that always seem to take him to faraway places in his mind. By now he knows that pushing for answers won’t help, but that patience and simple, physical contact most likely will.

So Eren concentrates on the feeling of Levi’s foot in his hands and their proximity. The hot water has begun to feel absolutely wonderful and washes away the stress of the day, while his fingers keep on kneading, squeezing and loosening until a sigh parts Levi’s lips and his head sinks back, his eyes closed once more. Eren relaxes a bit and gives the foot a quick squeeze before resuming with the massage.

He loves Levi’s feet; so graceful and delicate, yet so strong and branded by decades of fighting. The bandages they all usually wear for protection during the daytimes aren’t able to keep away the worst bruises and calluses from the gear and Eren tends to the markings, presses his thumbs into the battered skin and runs them over the curves in firm circles.

As he reaches the arch Levi winces shortly and Eren pauses in his movements, simply holds the foot, waiting. After a moment he digs his fingers a little more slowly into the spot with more force, and Levi hums in approval.

Levi’s toes are especially ticklish, so he saves them for last and after a few more minutes he pulls the sole to his lips. The gesture makes Levi look at him again. His gaze is more focused than before, more settled again, and a part of the worry is gone by now to make place for a certain fondness that warms Eren’s heart.

Being finished with the first foot Eren lets it glide back into the water to reach for the other one just as fingers come to a rest on his shin, squeeze gently before holding on, and Eren smiles as the pair of strong hands take a hold on a foot of his own to return the favour.

We should do this much more often, he thinks as he lets himself sink even deeper into the water. Not the brooding part, but this. Simply rubbing out the worry of each other’s feet after a long day.

Levi’s left foot takes longer than the first. It is always worse than the right, with a heavy tension settling in the sinews. The old injury must be acting up again and Eren frowns as he concentrates on rubbing the kinks out of the muscles, bones and toes, until the left foot is just as flexible and pliant under his fingers as the other.

He is just about to begin rub Levi’s legs when Levi lets go of Eren’s foot with one last squeeze as well and moves closer in the tub, turns around without a word, and lets himself rest against Eren, his back melting against his chest, their legs tangling, his fingers searching for Eren’s hands to wrap them around his waist, and craning back his head to kiss Eren’s chin from underneath.

“Thank you.”

“Any time.” Eren pecks Levi’s brow, the only thing he can reach without disturbing their embrace, while his hands glide over strong arms until they take hold on Levi’s right hand to continue their massage.

If Levi’s feet are beautiful, his hands are even more so. They are so small that they nearly vanish in his massive paws and only the scars and calluses give away what they are used to doing for a living. All ten fingers are slim and rangy, nearly too delicate for the man they belong to—the man who now melts defeatedly against Eren’s chest, like they were two parts of one single piece.

He knows that Levi must feel the hot and hard pressure against him, but they both ignore it for now and Eren wills it away. His fingers work on Levi’s palm, flex it and loosen the smaller and bigger knots in the thenar. There’s no sound from Levi as he relaxes more and more into their embrace. Only his breath that has long become deep and calm.

And just like with Eren’s feet, Levi soon begins to massage Eren’s hands in return with skilled fingers, earning himself a kiss in the nape of his neck. Eren feels goosebumps under his lips and smiles while his fingers are being stretched gently, one after the other and then the other hand as well.

Levi has fallen back into silence, but Eren knows it’s not necessarily a bad sign. He’ll talk when he wants to and until then they’ll enjoy the silence together, bask in the quietness they make for themselves. Their own little resort, accompanied by the gentle lapping and burbling of water and the dim light of the moon.

It takes Eren a while to notice that Levi’s massage has turned into something else. His fingers are tenderly brushing over Eren’s now, run over his fingertips and lifelines, over knuckles and joints, until their fingers intertwine and his hand is held against Levi’s chest. He squeezes back and lets go as Levi turns around once more, shortly brushes his lips over Eren’s and snuggles down against him, heart resting against heart.

Eren’s hands move on their own, break through the water and stroke Levi’s back in languid movements, over his spine all the way up into the stubbles of his undercut and the hair on the top of his head and back down again, over broad shoulders and shoulder blades, ribs and chiseled muscles, only to reach the small of Levi’s back and begin their wandering upwards from anew. And anew. And anew.

By now the water has nearly gone cold, but neither of them makes a move to change anything. Instead Levi begins to plant damp kisses on Eren’s neck while his fingertips ghost over Eren’s jaw and throat and his collarbones.

Sighing he runs his hand into Levi’s hair that’s all wet from the bath and his earlier caresses and brings their mouths together in a slow, exploring kiss. Lips brush over lips, tongues brush over tongues, making them breathless even before Levi rolls his hips against Eren. Once, twice, thrice.

Their kiss breaks off into gasps when Eren’s hands travel down and further down Levi’s back until they reach his arse and pull them closer together. Levi looks deep into his eyes, brow against brow, his hands playing with the hair in the nape of Eren’s neck and Eren swallows.

This is so much different from their usual greediness, so much more careful, so much more intense, so much more _everything_ , and Eren’s heart wants to burst while he fills his lungs with Levi’s air until it nearly hurts because it is too much and yet not nearly enough.

Levi looks vulnerable like this, absolutely naked and bare with the tired bruises under his eyes that make them appear to be bigger somehow, with the blush that makes his cheeks glow, with his deliciously swollen, darkened lips. Quiet, little noises leave his throat and Eren wants them, _needs_ them, is once more overwhelmed by his feelings for this man.

So he looks for halt in grey irises that are nearly completely black now and he knows he is absolutely lost. Lost in these eyes, lost in their panted sighs that pass back and forth, lost in the wonderful heat against him that’s such a contrast to the cold water, lost in Levi, Levi, Levi.

Levi, who is shuddering in his arms, moving, arching, rising, bending, completely falling apart, and all the while holding on as they breathe each other in in a constant splashing of water and gliding against each other. With each other.

He can see the moment in Levi’s eyes before he feels it, pulsating against him and making him follow a few unhurried strokes later, spoiling the water with streaks of white.

His scream breaks into a voiceless whimper and all he can do is keep his eyes locked with Levi’s until it is over and their breaths reverberate loudly in the bathroom in the most peaceful way.

Levi sinks back against Eren’s chest, lets out another voiceless sigh and Eren keeps on running his hands up and down Levi’s back to stroke him through the afterglow, and as Levi nuzzles his face into the crook of Eren’s neck once more, Eren kisses Levi’s hair and feels a smile against his shoulder.

“I love you,” he breathes with chattering teeth, only realising now how cold the water has become meanwhile. He doesn’t mind it too much…not for himself at least. “Bed?”

“Mm.” Going by the voice Levi is nearly asleep already.

When he doesn’t move Eren thinks about it for a moment and wraps Levi’s legs around his waist, holds him tightly against his chest, and stands up to carefully step out of the tub.

“Towels.” The grumbled complaint ends in a muffled chuckle into his neck that deprives it of its purpose. “You’re making the floor wet. And I can walk on my own.”

When they slip into bed a few minutes later, Levi scuttles closer under the still cold sheets until they’re tangled up in each other again. Eren chuckles fondly as a pair of icy feet wiggle their way under his calves, like they do every night.

He wants to stay awake, listen to Levi breathe and guard his dreams whilst savouring the pale skin of his face that’s framed by black hair, the cold feet under his legs and the strong body at his side that smells like soap.

“Love you too,” comes quietly next to his ear, so quiet he nearly can’t hear it, yet so warm, that his heart makes a small kick against his ribs.

He smiles. Runs his hand into Levi’s hair with a kiss. And before he knows it, his eyes have already closed and he drifts away into dreams of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave feedback in form of Kudos or comments if you liked the story or recommend it further on [tumblr](http://sugarplum-senpai.tumblr.com/post/151655480370/if-youre-still-taking-prompts-ereri-for-number). Thank you. <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to [raindrop_rouge](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raindrop_rouge) and [inkshaming](http://archiveofourown.org/users/inkshaming), my lovely betas. You're both angels!


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